Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang

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Web ID: 15058255

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out." — Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of BrassFrom award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic.

  • Product Features

    • Author - R. F. Kuang
    • Publisher - HarperCollins Publishers
    • Publication Date - 08-23-2022
    • Page Count - 560
    • Hardcover
    • Adult
    • Science Fiction and Fantasy
    • Product Dimensions - 6.1 W x 9.2 H x 1.9 D
    • ISBN -13 - 9780063021426
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Ratings & Reviews

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3 months ago

PERFECTION

This book. Holy hell. First of all, Ramy is awesome and the true star. Robin is all of us, but Ramy is who we should aspire to be. With that out of the way, this book was nothing short of incredible. After the 20% mark, it definitely started going in a direction that took me by surprise, and I was just along for the ride because I trusted R.F. Kuang knew what she was doing. And she did indeed. There’s something about the writing, the story, and the pure intellectualism that made me love it and want to immerse myself in this world. Kuang does an excellent job with the sense of deep foreboding from the very beginning of the book and that sense of dread never lets up. There’s excellent character development and dynamics, and Ramy and Robin’s friendship is beautiful, healthy, complex…and a lil romantic 👀 Babel is a tough look at capitalism and empire, but about the power of true solidarity and sacrifice in the face of creating a better world for future generations.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago
from Florida

An Epic Masterpiece

Babel is an epic masterpiece. Beautiful prose, a vivid sense of atmosphere and setting, complex characters… Roll all that into an intense, powerful, layered, thought-provoking plot. Then add a unique magic system that speaks volumes about humanity’s many pitfalls. Shake it up with all the emotions. And that was my experience while reading this book. This book is a lot. Content tackles racism, classism, elitism, and Colonialism. But it never feels too wide reaching, and it’s never the least bit preachy. We’re shown everything, told nothing, and left to decide for ourselves. Babel is a slow build, requiring a patient reader. While the destination matters, the journey is meant to be savored.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago
from Greece, NY

Dark Academia Perfection

R. F. Kuang never disappoints! I read Babel right after The Poppy War trilogy and I absolutely loved it. Babel reads like a classic, and teaches the reader about history and diversity, while also delivering a beautiful, gripping story. I could not put this book down, and it's the only book I've read this year that made me cry!

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago

My favorite read of the year!

This book cemented R.F. Kuang as my favorite author. It is revolutionary and challenges the foundations of colonialism and imperialism. It has a magic system that is subtle but that subtlety makes it that much more captivating. It is unique and unlike any other magic system I have read before. it is a magic that relates to translation that at first, is used as a tool for imperialism but is then turned in on itself to help raze the foundations of an elitist institution. The four main characters all come from very different backgrounds and it shows in the ways they are affected by the world's circumstances and how they react to and deal with those circumstances. This book challenges how easy it is to turn a blind eye to the world's atrocities in favor of one's own comfort. It is heartbreakingly frustrating and raw and the author does not shy away from any of the issues she tackles. For a book where translation is such a huge focus, there are not enough words in all the dead and living languages to describe what this book and its characters made me feel.

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago
from BookishSelkie

Unquestionably a masterpiece

Robin Swift is brought to England by the mysterious Professor Lowell after his mother dies of illness. He has left Canton behind, but carries language with him wherever he goes. And that is what interests Professor Lowell- training Robin in Ancient Greek, Latin, and Chinese. Robin is destined for Babel, the translation center that powers England. Babel uses silver bars and other country’s languages to activate them. As Robin grows older, he is contacted by the shadowy Hermes Society, who aims to take down Babel once and for all. When Robin learns of a manipulative conspiracy to spark war with China, he must choose whose side he is truly on. R. F. Kuang weaves a compelling and unputdownable tale of dark academia and colonialism. The characters are lovable and it is impossible not to be filled with fury at the injustices and discrimination that they experience at Oxford. Sadly, this is not a matter of fiction and instead a reality. I particularly loved Robin, Rami, and Victoire. Kuang’s prose is elegant and witty; I highlighted so many fantastic quotes while I read. The humor is dry and unforgiving, which I loved. Kuang has filled this book with history and anecdotes; I frequently found myself researching more about the real-life people and facts presented in footnote form. The concept of silver-working was such a well-designed and insidious magic system. The system requires a native language speaker to create and use the bars. In this way, language is stolen and used against the people it belongs to. Kuang highlights real-world issues in academia such as racism, discrimination, and the effects of colonialism. She builds the story to an incredible and heartbreaking climax. I can’t wait to get my hard copy and reread everything; I know this is one of the books that will only gain deeper meaning and detail with every reread. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is unquestionably a masterpiece. I couldn’t put it down! I would highly recommend it to anyone. Kuang is such a talented writer and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

3 years ago

Kuang has done it again!

I start immediately by thanking R.F. Kung and Harper Voyager for letting me read my most anticipated book of the year in exchange for an honest review. You couldn't give me a better gift! Thank you! My beloved Kuang has done it again! She has created another masterpiece! After reading the Poppy War Trilogy, the author's debut series, I thought it would be difficult, almost impossible, to write a better book than that series... but as you will understand in the review, she did it! Before starting the review I want to make a premise, or rather 2 premises: 1. It will be difficult to write an exhaustive review for this book because it is so complex, layered and magnificent that it is not possible to describe it in mortal words. 2. Babel is not the Poppy War Trilogy! Babel belongs to a different genre (I will talk about this more than once) and is set in a context and in a universe totally different from the Poppy War. There are so many beautiful things in this book, but what made this book so loved, as it had already happened with the Poppy War, was the incredible characterization of the characters. Robin is the main character, a well-rounded, thoughtful, interesting, even mysterious character… but the most surprising thing was the development of him, surprising and highly realistic. His struggles with his education, with his mother, with Lovell, the difficult choices he made - all of this was so vividly described that at the end of the book I almost believed Robin was a historical figure who really lived in this world. In addition to Robin, Babel has a cast of truly varied and well represented characters. Robin's circle of friends (Ramy, Letty and Victoire) was full of different dynamics but all perfectly described. Kuang, as I said before, has really created characters that are so real that they seem to really exist in our world. After talking about the characters, as I said at the beginning of the review, I want to spend some words on the genre. Babel in my opinion is a really complex story, difficult and much deeper than it may seem, so I place it in the adult fiction category, plus it fits into the Dark Academia genre, but, Kung has taken the classic Dark Academia book set in the university and made it something extremely original and fresh. Moving on to the writing style I have nothing to say ... if you have read the Poppy War Trilogy you know how Kuang writes and how much talented she is. The only thing I can say is that with this book she has improved even more by creating an unparalleled story; there have been certain phrases/descriptions that really seemed to be written by a poet's pen! I must admit that in certain moments the reading seemed a bit heavy, but the plot never stopped and the events were balanced very well in order to make the novel never boring or tiring. Furthermore, another advantage of Babel is the fact that is a standalone novel and so, in 500 pages the story begins and ends in an exhaustive way. I can't say more... in a nutshell my comment is: read this book and you will discover with your own eyes what jewel it is. All my reviews can be found on my goodreads profile and on my Bookstagram profile. Goodreads: addicted to books Instagram : @iam_addicted_to_books

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com